Smoked Milkfish and Bihod Pie with Croutons -Filipino Appetizer

If you landed here because you’re looking for a Filipino appetizer, this is it! Filipino Appetizers are usually pulutan or “hand food” designed for drinking but this Bihod recipe is a pre dinner appetizer, usually served for special occasions such as Christmas. This is a seafood putok batok recipe, if there’s such a thing, so be careful not to eat too much ha ha!

I’m posting this Filipino Appetizer by Chef Jessie from last years’ Christmas Menu at The Maya Kitchen Culinary Elite Series. This Bihod pie is a superb appetizer for a Filipino Christmas Menu just like as Chef Jessie prepared it but can also be used for other occasions you might have that needs to have a bit of a Filipino Flavor.

Wondering what a bihod is? Bihod is “fish roe” in English. In Marinduque where I came from this is called Bihod like in Visayas. In Filipino, it is simply itlog therefore you have itlog ng tuna, etc. For us near the sea, this is hardly a treat. It is a common occurrence for me to get fish with bihod but when I came to Manila, it is very rare for me to find bihod in a fish.! I didnt realize then that a simple fresh fried fish with a mass of bihod is so special.

What I found better in Manila though is that if you’re early enough in the market, you can find blobs of bihod, like really huge! They are sold per kilo and sometimes I feel like my eyes would pop from these special Pinoy delicacy.

This bihod pie recipe uses a ring mold. If you don’t have that, you can just use a fresh can you just emptied, remove the covers and use it as a mold – such as hmm, a Maling or a Purefoods can. Be careful though! Use a can opener for a cleaner cut.

The smoked milkfish tasted awesome with bits of the Bangus and bihod. The bihod tasted earthy and different. I was surprised with how I liked the combination of cream, smoked fish, and bihod. We also got a taste of Chef Jessie’s famous artisan bread (not in this picture) and it was so good , even without the dip!

Share this:

About the Author

I am a mom blogger and a freelancer. I make websites and writes for a living! As a mom, I believe that everything doesn't have to perfect to be wonderful. Sometimes life can be chaotic and we all need a little help now and then. I'm here to help with the mom blues. Aja!